Baffles may be used to improve noise transmission qualities or seal interfaces of various structural assemblies, such as body assemblies for motor vehicles. Baffles typically include a rigid carrier having features for securing the baffle to a structural element, e.g., a sheetmetal panel. An expandable material may be provided on the carrier that may be expanded, such as by the application of heat, to form a material which improves structural qualities of any panels or structural members in contact with the expanded material. For example, the expanded material may become relatively stiff after formation, thereby improving overall strength and/or rigidity of a panel. Some expandable materials may form a foam material after expansion that dampens transmission of sound through the structure by absorbing sound energy or dampening vibrations of a structure. Baffles may additionally be used to form complex structures on or adjacent a structural element, e.g., a sheetmetal panel.
Baffles may be especially useful where it is necessary to provide features having shapes or configurations that would be difficult or impractical to manufacture using traditional methods, e.g., stamping or molding. For example, a baffle may have an expandable material which expands to form a mass which generally seals an interface between various structures, or directs fluid flow, e.g., drainage of water, within a body cavity. In some cases, several baffles may be provided within a single body cavity to create a channel within the cavity for routing fluid flow therein. As one example, two separate baffles may be installed on either side of a body cavity to generally define a passage for conducting water that may accumulate within the body cavity to a drainage aperture provided in one of the body panels.
For applications where more than one shape or feature is needed, such as to properly route fluid flow within a body cavity, multiple baffles are generally required in order to properly form each separate shape or feature. Each separate baffle requires a separate forming process and installation step, further increasing manufacturing costs. Further, a greater number of parts and manufacturing operations results in increased opportunities for manufacturing errors. For example, the individual baffles may look very similar, especially in the case of mirror-image “right hand side” and “left hand side” versions of a similar part, allowing an operator to be easily confused, and incorrectly install one or more baffles. A manufacturer may therefore realize increased warranty costs and customer complaints as a result of incorrect installations at the plant.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a baffle which can form a plurality of distinct shapes or features, to reduce the number of separate baffles that may need to be installed on a particular structure, e.g., a sheetmetal panel. Further, the baffle must also being cost-efficient to manufacture and install.